Comments from a conservative-bordering-on-libertarian living in the great State of Maryland

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Another innocent victim of the Bush years...

35 years ago, it was a badge of honor among the “in” crowd to be included on President Nixon’s enemies list. Nowadays I’m sure it would burnish a progressive’s resume just to be able to claim that he/she was “canned” by George W. Bush.

“It was too much to hope for that he might be an Obama delegate. In fact, he lives in Denver and was a representative to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, he says, until George W. Bush canned him. But he actually is a Democrat and a highly enthusiastic Obama supporter.” Michael Kinsley: John Foster Dulles Supports Barack Obama

I have no idea what Mr. Kinsley means by “a representative to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights”. The Commission has eight Commissioners (4 appointed by the President and 4 by Congress) so had the President “canned” the grandson of the former Secretary of State (and for whom Dulles Airport is named), I have to believe I would have heard about it.

A little research later and, sure enough, he never was a Commissioner but instead was the Regional Director of the Commission’s Rocky Mountain Office (and how that translates into Representative, I don't know - must be a Harvard Law thing). And he worked as such at least until 2006.

That position is now held by Malee Craft, who apparently used to work for Mr. Dulles before she ascended to the top regional spot. I could find no evidence that he was “canned” – much less by President Bush. In fact, I’d be surprised to learn that the President had ever heard of him – much less cared enough about him to single him out for canning. If anyone else knows otherwise, I would be genuinely interested in learning about it.